Holiday makers on the Ile d'Oleron (Charente Maritime) have complained to the local maire that a neighbour's cock sings so loudly at 6h30 every morning that he is disturbing their sleep.
The owner says she has sound-proofed the coop of Maurice, the offending bird, and keeps him in the dark until 8h30 - but he knows nonetheless when it's time to sing.
The maire is sympathetic to both parties, but is powerless to intervene. The owner has the support of over 30000 signatories to a petition and has organised a march through the village to protest at the threat to her Maurice. Complainants have threatened to go to court, but Maurice would not be the first gallinacean to be brought before the justices. And the law may be on his side, as a court of appeal has ruled in an earlier case that "hens are harmless and stupid animals that not even a Chinese circus has been able to train" and that it is therefore impossible to stop a cock from crowing.
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